Refinancing a home doesn't make sense for everyone even with mortgage rates at historic lows. Mortgage refinancing keeps hitting record highs as interest rates dribble to generational lows.

Mortgage brokers say that out of every 10 calls they get, probably three of them really shouldn't refinance. The most obvious case of when refinancing doesn't make sense is when the homeowner won't live in the house long enough for the savings from a refinancing to outweigh the costs of getting a loan. If you're 10 or 20 years into a 30-year mortgage, refinancing to another 30-year loan may only increase your costs in the long run.

If you've missed payments, run up big credit card bills or otherwise stressed your credit, you may not qualify for a low enough rate for refinancing to make sense. Refinancing might not make sense if you've already borrowed 90% or more of your home's value in mortgages and home equity loans. Taking out extra cash during a refinancing to pay off credit-card debt is a popular tactic these days -- and a huge potential mistake. Cut up the cards.

Learn to define your goals. Run the numbers. You also need to look at the total costs of the loan over the long term. Even if you have a much shorter breakeven point, for example, you could wind up paying more for a new loan if you're several years into your current loan or if you've made substantial extra payments on your mortgage.

By M. Sese
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